Turn Back the Clock
by Illumini
Summary: Following a mishap involving the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic is transported 50 years into the past... To the Space Colony ARK, where he meets a hedgehog very similar to himself... SONADOW
1. Preternatural Objects

This is just a little idea for a story I had... I dunno if I'll continue it, but here it is anyway. Enjoy!

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Sonic stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the city that spread out in front of him. The sun was beginning to set behind the sparkling waters of the Emerald Bay, creating a brilliant red glow in the dusk sky. He took a deep breath and leant against a tree, enjoying the cool spring air. Sonic found it very relaxing, something which he needed very much at the moment. It had been several weeks since the Chaos incident, and people were just beginning to repair the damage the ancient creature had done to the city. Sonic remembered the final battle well. It was hard to forget, really…

//FLASHBACK//

Sonic gritted his teeth, ramming into Chaos once again. His super form protected him from most of Chaos's deadly aura, but he still felt a weak sensation every time he got close to the giant monster. Chaos roared in pain, before raising one of its tentacles high above its head, and swinging it towards the golden hedgehog. Sonic flew to the side, narrowly dodging the appendage. The battle had been raging for what seemed like hours, and Sonic knew that he had to end it soon. Glancing around desperately, he spotted something – A skywalk towards the end of the street. He hovered away from Chaos and smirked, provoking the beast. The entity lumbered down the pavement towards Sonic, tentacles swinging wildly at him. As Chaos approached him, Sonic suddenly flew upwards to the hanging walkway, and hovered near the cables it hung from. He gave each of the metal ropes an almighty punch, causing them to snap. The walkway broke off from its supports, tumbling towards Chaos. The behemoth only had time to cry out before the huge piece of metal came crashing down onto it, pinning it to the ground. Smirking, Sonic hovered down, and rammed Chaos one final time, as it cried out in pain before going completely limp.

//END FLASHBACK//

Sonic sighed. Although he had done the right thing and most people praised him greatly for stopping Chaos, there were still a few greedy bastards who felt that Sonic should pay for the damage, as he had helped cause it. Sonic just felt sad for those people. Despite that, it was still a great burden on his mind.

There was something else bothering him as well. Himself. He had been recently contemplating his love life, and he had realized that, despite his fame, he had never had a girlfriend.

'A _real_ girlfriend…' Sonic reminded himself, as Amy suddenly sprung to mind.

Of course, there was more to it than the fact that he didn't have a girlfriend. Earlier, he had caught himself thinking about how sexy Knuckles looked while swimming. And that was why Sonic had come to the cliff. He needed to think about things. What if he _was_ gay? What would the public think? More importantly, what would his friends think? He kept telling himself that if they were real friends then they wouldn't mind (Apart from Amy, of course), but there was still that nagging doubt.

The calm was suddenly interrupted by a loud ringing. Sonic reached into his quills and pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open while checking the screen to see who the caller was. 'Tails,' Sonic thought to himself, 'I wonder what he wants?'

"Hello, Sonic?" The kitsune said.

"Hey, little bro," Sonic replied, pushing himself off the tree trunk. "What's up?"

"I need you to come over to my workshop for a bit," Tails explained. "I need you to help me out with a test."

"Sure, Tails," Sonic said, walking over to the edge of the cliff. "That all you need?"

"For now…" Tails replied mysteriously.

"OK, I'll see you there!" Sonic said, flicking his mobile shut. The azure hero glanced over the cliff anxiously, before throwing himself over, savoring the cool air blowing through his spines. He bent his knees slightly, bracing for impact, and grunted as he hit the ground. Assuring himself that nothing was broken, he clambered back up and took off towards the Mystic Ruins.

------------------------------

"Hey Tails!" Sonic called out as he ran through the door the fox's home.

"In here, Sonic!" Tails yelled to him from his lab.

Sonic jogged through to the large room, and entered. He looked around the sterile white environment. There were several benches with vials of liquid sitting on them, a bunch of scientific equipment, all foreign articles to Sonic, and, most impressively, an enormous room that was set underneath the entire lab.

"Wow, nice place." Sonic complimented, as his eyes fell across something that aroused his attention immensely. "Woah! You have six of the Chaos Emeralds?" He said in amazement, staring the six multicolored gems that were sitting in a heptagonal device.

"Yep!" Tails said simply, puffing out his chest proudly.

"Oh, man…" Sonic murmured, running his hand over the glass circle that separated him and the green emerald. "It must have taken you forever to get all these…"

"Well, I already had two, Knuckles had another one, and I pulled some strings with GUN to get my hands on the other three." Tails explained to him.

"Hey, one's missing…" Sonic noted, seeing that there was an empty chamber on the device.

"I know. That's why I called you here, actually. See, I performed some scans I found that the seventh emerald is in…" Tails pressed a button on his computer console. "Eggman's base." He said glumly, as a geographical map of an area filled the screen.

"Oh…" Sonic scowled. He despised that crazy scientist. "I guess you want me to go retrieve it, then?"

"Yes." Tails said, closing down the map. "And be quick. This test has to be performed tonight, or it'll be months before the conditions are right again."

"Sure thing!" Sonic said, walking over to the door. "I'll be back soon!

------------------------------

Night had fallen by the time Sonic arrived at Eggman's base. He approached the fortress quickly and quietly, staying in the shadows whenever he could. 'This will be so easy!' He thought smugly, as he leapt over the wall surrounding the base. He landed perfectly, and took one step forward, before alarm bells began ringing throughout the base. "Or not…" Sonic muttered to himself, posing in his battle stance. Several guard robots rolled out of the darkness, their launchers pointed at the blue intruder. Sonic spindashed towards them, weaving his way between the missiles being launched at him. He jumped on each of the robots, causing them to immolate into a fiery explosion. With the element of surprise completely ruined, Sonic ran towards the base's blast doors, narrowly avoiding bullets that the wall turrets spat at him. He rushed towards the doors, ramming them with all his might, but it barely dented he thick steel. Sonic looked around, desperately seeking another tactic. Finally, he found something. Backing up slightly, he ran at the doors as fast as he could but at the last second jumped onto them and began running towards the roof. The wall turrets continued to spray bullets at him, most of which ended up slamming into the split between the gates. As he reached the top of them, Sonic pushed off and back flipped to the ground, smirking proudly when he gently tapped the doors and they swung open. He ran into the building and sped off down the corridor, heading towards the centre of the base.

Meanwhile, in the core of the fortress Eggman was just finishing repairs on one of his robots when alarm bells suddenly rang out. "Gah!" The fat scientists cried out, the sudden shock causing him to drive a screwdriver straight through the mech's circuits. He looked up at the screen, and scowled when he saw the cause for the alarm. "Sonic…" He muttered angrily. His blood pressure jumped again when he heard an annoyingly familiar voice behind him. "Hey, Eggy!"

"It's you…" Eggman steamed, spinning around in his chair to face the blue hedgehog. "What do you want…"

"You have something that a friend of mine wants." Sonic explained, smirking. "The Chaos Emerald?"

"Yes, I do happen to have that." Now it was Eggman's turn to smirk. "But you won't be getting it! Robots, get him!" He shouted, pressing a button on his console. The caused several doors at the entrance of the room to swing open, but the only thing that fell out were heaps of broken metal, with the occasional spark.

"Wha…" Eggman began, his jaw dropping slightly.

Sonic smiled smugly. "Seriously, Eggy. You should do a better job hiding your guards."

Eggman simply scowled, picking up the purple Chaos Emerald sitting on the desk and throwing it at Sonic's head. "Just take the damn thing. It wouldn't even do what I needed it for, anyway."

"Whatever…" Sonic mumbled, rubbing at the rising lump of his head. He grabbed the jewel, that was now lying on the ground, and sped off back out of the base.

------------------------------

Tails tapped his foot impatiently, staring back up at the door for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. 'Where the hell is he?' The kitsune thought to himself, frustrated with how long Sonic was taking to retrieve the emerald. He needed to start the test soon, otherwise it would be too late, and it was months until the conditions were right again. He needed to do the experiment _now_. He almost fell back out the his chair when he heard the front door swing open, and Sonic was barely inside the lab when Tails plucked the emerald from his hands. "Gee, a little hasty tonight, aren't we?" Sonic teased.

"You're the one who took forever getting it…" Tails grumbled, walking over to the device housing the emeralds. He flipped open the glass cover on the empty chamber and placed the purple emerald inside. The centre of the heptagon began to glow faintly.

"Hey, what's happening?" Sonic asked, staring at the dim light.

"The core is reacting to the emeralds being in such close proximity. It's the only thing stopping them from separating again."

Sonic nodded thoughtfully. He knew very well what happened when you brought all seven emeralds together. If you had Chaos powers like himself, you would be converted into a super version of yourself for a length of time, and once the effect wore off, the emeralds would scatter themselves to various parts of the globe. Sonic had always guessed that was some ancient spell designed to protect the emeralds from those who would misuse them.

"Hmm…" Tails murmured, looking back up at Sonic. "I'm going to need a bit more of your help."

"OK… What with?" Sonic said curiously.

"I was planning on placing the emeralds in the reaction chamber myself, and then coming back up to the control room, but because there's not much time left, I'm going to need you to take the core down there and place it in the reactor."

"Wouldn't that be a little dangerous?" Sonic said nervously. "I mean, this is the Chaos Emeralds you're dealing with here. Not even Knuckles knows everything about them."

"Well, I did some calculations, and there's only a 0.6% chance of any sort of problem occurring. You should be fine." Tails said reassuringly.

"I guess so…" Sonic mumbled. He was still unsure about all this, but then again, if he could trust anyone's calculations, it was Tails'. Tails pushed a trolley under the device, and motioned for Sonic to come over. "Alright, here's what I need you to do," Tails began to explain, "Go into the elevator, and take it down the reactor. I'll control all the doors and things from down here. When I say so, just push the cart and the emeralds into the middle of the room, and I'll control things from there."

"OK…" Sonic murmured, wheeling the cart over to the lift.

"Oh, and Sonic?" Tails called out to him.

"Yeah?" Sonic glanced over his shoulder.

"Good luck." Tails said, his face slightly worried. Sonic just smiled and pushed the cart into the elevator, pressing the lone button inside. The doors slid shut and Sonic felt his stomach drop slightly as the elevator began its descent. A few seconds later, there was a loud 'Ping!' and the doors slid open, revealing a white corridor. Sonic pushed the trolley out and followed the corridor, until he reached the end, which led out into a giant, copper-walled room. Sonic walked out into it, and the blast doors slammed shut behind him. "Point of no return, eh…" Sonic mumbled to himself, wishing there was some wood to touch.

"OK, Sonic?" Tails voice crackled out over the intercom. "Now place the device into the reactor."

"Right!" Sonic shouted back, though he wasn't sure if Tails could even hear him. He rolled the cart over to the heptagonal hole in the middle of the room, and pushed the device off into it. The two fit perfectly.

"Alright, I'm beginning the warm up. There won't be any radiation yet, so don't worry too much. I'll let you out in a minute."

Sonic stared on anxiously as the device slowly began to rotate, the multicolored gems encased within it turning into a blur. A long column protruded from the ceiling, and descended on the centrifuge, stopping barely a centimetre above it.

"Power usage at 50%." Tails said over the intercom. It comforted Sonic a little to hear another voice in the unnaturally quiet chamber. "At 75%. 90%. Power usage at… 110%?" Tails voice instantly became panicked.

"Tails! What's happening?" Sonic shouted, unsure of what was now happening?"

"The emeralds power in overloading the system! Hang on… I'll see what I can…" Suddenly, there was a deafening crash and the top of the column snapped off, hurtling into a wall.

"Sonic!" Tails screamed desperately, trying to shut down the system. "It won't – It won't shut down!" Suddenly, his face went emotionless, his wide eyes the only thing telling Sonic that something was terribly, terribly wrong. "It's not… It's not shutting down!"

Suddenly, a white light began to shine from the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic raised a hand to his eyes, blocking them from the blinding glow. "Tails!" He shouted into the purgatory. "Wh-what's going on!"

"Get down!" Tails screamed, before the intercom's feed changed to a loud whine.

Sonic felt around wildly, trying to find some sort of grip.

The light was the only thing he could make out.

The light was the only thing that existed.

Sonic let out one final, desperate cry and with that he disappeared in a flash of light.


	2. Onboard the ARK

Well, it seems people like this story, so I've decided to continue it. Be warned, I may have _some_ (Read: A LOT) of facts about ARK and stuff wrong, and didn't play anything after SA2. I might do some more of this later, so look out for it…

Shadow: No. You won't. You have that Computer Studies assignment which is due tomorrow, remember?

But I'm almost done.

Shadow: Yes, aside from adding all the effects, editing music out, and grammar checking.

Whatever… *prick*…

Shadow: What was that?

Nothing! Uh, I don't own Sonic or Shadow, who may I mention is a particularly strong and intelligent perso…HOLY SHIT HE'S GOT A GUN!

----------

The first thing Sonic noticed was the cold.

It was a particularly biting feeling that seemed to envelope from all around him, wrapping him in its chilly embrace. Sonic shivered and brought his arms closer to his body, noticing how freely they moved.

The second thing he noticed was the Earth.

As he tried to get his bearings, he saw the blue planet in front of him, spinning slowly on his axis. He gasped, or at least tried to, when he realized where he was.

'I'm in outer space…' He thought to himself. This panicked him slightly, as he remembered something that Tails had once mentioned…

///FLASHBACK///

"Hey Tails!"

"Oh, Hi Sonic," Tails replied, climbing down a ladder that was leaning against a huge metal…

"Woah!" Sonic cried out upon spotting it, "Is that a rocket?"

"Yeah, it is…" Tails mumbled, wiping the sweat off his forehead with an oily rag. "I decided to build one in case Eggman tries to do something out in space."

"Looks pretty good…" Sonic commented, strolling around the spaceship. "Is it finished?"

"Nearly." Tails replied, picking up a welding torch off the workbench. "I still need to install a lot of the internal features, mainly the life support systems, and general protection, as well as…"

"What type of protection?" Sonic interrupted.

"Things like heat panels and the airlocks, as well as fixing any gaps in the hull. There's no air in space, so any holes could cause explosive decompression…"

///END FLASHBACK///

Sonic was starting to get breathless, and he knew that he'd have to get some oxygen soon, or he'd die. Unfortunately for him, the chances of being seen, let alone picked up by someone, were extremely slim. He looked back to the Earth, wondering if Tails had any idea what had happened to him.

Sonic, however, wasn't the only person watching something.

------------------------------

"Maria! Come over here!"

Gerald Robotnik was amazed. He had been in the control centre of the Space Colony ARK, calibrating the space station's orbit, when he had noticed something that was definitely out of the ordinary. A blue creature seemed to have suddenly appeared outside the ARK, and even more amazing, seemed to be alive. Gerald knew, though, that wouldn't be the case if he was out there for much longer.

"What is it, grandfather?" A brown-haired girl walked over to the scientist, trying to see what the scientist was looking at. "Oh my God!" She cried out, as she realized what it was.

"Indeed. Go get the airlock open and fetch me a med-kit! Now!"

The girl simply nodded, as she ran off to get some help. Gerald turned his attention back to the blue creature outside, pressing his lips together in concern.

------------------------------

Sonic vision was beginning to fade when he noticed something moving in the corner of his eye.

There seemed to be a giant mechanical claw moving slowly towards him, its teeth slowly separating. Sonic wasn't sure if he was just hallucinating from oxygen deprivation, but it was his best and only hope for being rescued. He waved his arms manically, trying to turn himself towards it, before making swimming motions as he floated towards it. The metal teeth slowly lowered to grab him, pinning him tightly but gently between them. As the claw dragged him along, he noticed what the metallic appendage was attached to.

It was a giant, circular space station.

Sonic's eyes widened at the site. He only knew two groups that could afford a thing like this: The military and Eggman. He wasn't too worried about the case of it belonging to GUN, despite their slight mistrust of each other, the military wouldn't really hurt him, if only for publicity reasons. If it was Eggman, however, then there was a problem; there would be no way to escape from the space station. His fears quickly jumped as he glanced through a window and noticed a man who looked remarkably like Eggman sitting at a control panel.

'But that doesn't make sense.' Sonic thought to himself. 'If this really was Eggman, couldn't he have just left me to die out here? I don't know, it's Eggman, he's probably just planning something more elaborate.

The claw was fully retracted by now, and it released Sonic onto a platform. He floated in the air for a few seconds, before a glass guard slid out from the space station, sliding ninety degrees to meet with the platform underneath Sonic. There was a loud hiss as air flowed into the chamber, and Sonic suddenly fell to the floor as gravity was destabilized. He panted desperately, taking in lungful after lungful of the precious oxygen. There was a buzz as the doors leading into the airlock slid open, and Sonic took a gasp as he saw the same man as before standing in the doorway.

"Who…Who are you?" He wheezed, still trying to get air back into his lungs.

"I am Professor Gerald Robotnik." The man announced, leaning over to help Sonic up. "And welcome to the Space Colony ARK."

------------------------------

"So, you're name is Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"Yes, that's right."

Sonic was sitting in a chair in the living area of the Space Colony ARK. He had just been released from the Medical Centre, having been put through a series of tests to determine whether he had suffered any damage from being exposed to the vacuum of space. The doctors had determined that there was no lasting damage, aside from a mild case of the bends. He had been brought here after that, where he was once again meeting with the man that had rescued him. They had fought at first, as Sonic thought that this was all another one of Eggman's schemes to conquer the world. It had come as a surprise to him when the man had shown absolutely no knowledge of who Eggman was, despite looking so much like him. It had come as an even bigger surprise when Sonic found out that he didn't even know who the blue hedgehog was. It was all coming as a shock to Sonic, while he may not have had a _huge_ ego, the man should've at least known about him and Eggman!

"Very interesting name, I must say" Gerald said, taking a sip from his mug of coffee. "My name is Gerald, Gerald Robotnik. I am the owner and commander of this space station, the Space Colony ARK."

"It's cool," Sonic said, glancing around the room. He wasn't lying, either, he found the place genuinely interesting. While he wasn't much of a scientific person, he enjoyed helping Tails out with his many projects, and as such had come to have quite a liking for things like it. He had been extremely glad when he had noticed how big the ARK was, he'd be sure to have fun running and exploring.

"Hmm…" Gerald mumbled, sipping from his mug again. "It's a personal project of mine. I've always had an interest in space, you see. Although, it's not just for me. It's for my granddaughter, Maria."

"Why's that?" Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maria has a highly reactive allergy system, and she has a very hard time dealing with the conditions on Earth. So, I built the ARK, as a means of allowing her to live in a healthy environment."

"Oh… I'm sorry…" Sonic said, feeling bad for the poor girl.

"It's nothing too bad, but I want to see her happy. She deserves it." Gerald rubbed his hands together. "Anyway, Sonic, I'm sure that you're very tired. I'll have you shown to your room. Maria!" Gerald called out.

"Yes, Grandfather?" Maria replied, walking into the room.

Sonic stared at the girl walking towards him and Gerald. She was quite beautiful, her brown hair sweeping slightly across her forehead, contrasting brilliantly against her blue eyes.

"Could you take Sonic to his room? Put him in Room 247, that way he'll have some familiar company." Gerald explained crytically.

"Of course." Maria said, smiling at Sonic. "This way." She said.

Sonic hopped off the chair and they both walked out of the room, heading down the corridors.

"So, you're Maria, huh?" Sonic said, trying to break the silence.

"Yes, I am. And you're Sonic, obviously?"

"That my name?" Sonic said cheerfully.

"That's a very interesting name. Does it have any particular meaning?" Maria said curiously.

"Yeah, it's 'cause I can do this!" Sonic cried, as he bolted down the corridor, he stopped at the end, smirking proudly.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Maria gasped.

"That's what a lot of people say." Sonic remarked, as he waited for the girl to catch up.

The two of them continued to walk throughout the ARK until they finally reached a door with the number 247 printed on it.

"Well, this is your room. Just use the intercom if you need anything." Maria explained, pressing a button beside the door.

"Thanks!" Sonic said, walking into the room. It was quite large, with two double beds on either side of the room. One of the bed's sheets were messed up, as if someone had recently slept in it.

"Looks like I'll be bunking…" Sonic mused to himself, continuing to glance around the room. Something on one of the dressers caught his eye. He walked over and picked it up; it was a gold bracelet. He stared at it, noticing the way that the light bounced off it. As he examined it, he suddenly heard a deep voice behind him.

"You know, it's generally considered impolite to touch someone's things without asking."

Sonic whipped around quickly, letting the bracelet fall back onto the table with a loud clinging noise. A black hedgehog stepped out from the shadows, his eyes staring straight at Sonic. The azure hero examined the creature in front of him. He seemed to be a replica of Sonic himself, except for a few details. Four of his quills were sticking upwards on their ends, while the rest were hanging down normally. His body was covered in red markings, which went from his head, to his arms, and down his legs. The most noticeable was the white patch of fur located in the middle. It contrasted brilliantly against the black fur that covered most of his body. His eyes were the thing that struck Sonic the most, as they were an extremely strange crimson colour.

"Who are you?" Sonic asked, staring at the hedgehog in front of him.

"I am Shadow the Hedgehog." The creature said, walking over to Sonic. "The Ultimate Lifeform."


	3. Meet the Ultimate

**Finally, the third chapter is done.**** It may seem a bit rushed, I was trying to get it finished before school camp. I'm off to Moreton Island for 4 days, or at least the parts that aren't covered in oil.**

**Sorry I didn't update in a while, I was on holidays and I was… Too busy.**

**Shadow: You mean, you were wasting your time playing Call of Duty 4?**

**I'd watch it, if I were you…**

**Shadow: Why? What are **_**you**_** gonna do?**

**Folks, keep an eye out for my next oneshot, in which Shadow gets raped by…**

**Shadow: OK! OK! I'm sorry!**

**That's what I thought. Now say your line, or I'll start on the yaoi orgy one…**

**Shadow: **_**Shit!**_** Uh, Illumini does not own me, Sonic or anything else, SEGA does.**

**That's better. And by the way, Shadow's gonna be pretty OOC in this story, but justifiably.**

**----------**

"Shadow?" Sonic was all Sonic could manage to say, quite in awe of the hedgehog standing in front of him.

"That's what I said, innit?" Shadow said, walking over towards the blue hedgehog. "Who are you, anyway? Gerald said that I'd be getting a roommate, but he didn't mention any names."

A smile lit up across Sonic's face "My name's Sonic the Hedgehog!" He proclaimed proudly, grinning as he prodded his chest with his thumb. "And I'm the fastest thing alive!"

Shadow chuckled dryly. "You? The fastest? Please. I am the Ultimate, remember?"

Sonic looked at Shadow, intrigued. "Is that a challenge?"

Shadow smirked at him. "Yes, it is…"

Sonic chuckled, stretching his right leg. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"The only thing I'll be waiting for is you." Shadow retorted, as he bent over into a starting position. "First to the observation deck wins."

"Wait! I don't know…"

"GO!" Shadow shouted, not allowing Sonic anytime to finish his sentence. He sped off out of the room, a golden streak of light left in his wake. Sonic wasn't about to be beaten though, as he ran off after Shadow, his feet hitting the ground at supersonic speeds. Sonic figured that he'd just catch up to Shadow, follow him to the observation deck, and then run ahead to victory. He noticed, as he did catch up to Shadow, that the black hedgehog's feet didn't connect with the ground. Instead, he seemed to hover a few inches above the ground, his feet moving almost like he was skating.

'Woah, that's a little unfair…' Sonic thought to himself, knowing that the lack of contact with the ground meant no friction. 'Ah, well, it'll just make me winning even more amazing!' He reasoned, as he lowered his head to reduce some of the drag and gain speed.

Shadow noticed Sonic as he ran up beside him. He smirked. "Took you a while!" He bantered playfully, pretending to lunge towards Sonic in an effort to thrown him off. The blue hedgehog didn't even flinch, instead simply smirking and running off. Shadow scowled slightly, but smirked afterwards. 'Finally, some _real_ competition in this place!' He thought, thankful for someone who could actually meet his own speed. In the past, Gerald had created robots for Shadow to run against, as a means of testing his running abilities. They hadn't even come close to matching Shadow's pace. 'Well, better not let this go to waste!' Shadow thought, as he sped up towards Sonic.

Sonic was just running at cruising speed when a black, red and gold streak flew past him. "Oh, he wants a fight, does he? Well, let's see if he can beat this!" Sonic mumbled to no one in particular, pushing himself even harder. A thunderous crack was heard as Sonic broke the sound barrier, and he sped off into the distance, leaving just a blur in his wake. Shadow flinched as he heard the crack, he thought for a second that a part of the ARK's hull had been breached. It wouldn't have been the first time either. He wouldn't have really cared too much if it had, except that last time, he had almost been sucked out into the vacuum of space. However, Shadow's fears were quelled as he felt a breeze pass by his side, and the fear was replaced by his competitive spirit kicking in. Both hedgehogs ran side by side, a yellow and blue trail following them. They ran through a doorway, into a room made almost entirely out of glass. Out of the windows, the Earth could be seen. 'This must be it… Time to win this!' Sonic thought, as he mustered all of his strength and ran towards the goal. He reached out to the huge metal pylon to touch it, but just as he did, Shadow leapt forward towards it, and their hands connected at the same time, Shadow's on top of Sonic's.

"I win!" Both of the hedgies shouted, and then looked at each other.

"You? As if. I touched it first!" Sonic claimed, growling slightly.

"Please. You just can't handle the fact the you lost." Shadow argued.

"Oh yeah? Then explain why my hand is under yours." Sonic said, realizing the implications a second later. "Wait… Oh!" He exclaimed, swiftly pulling his hand from under Shadow's, as Shadow pulled his off Sonic's.

"Er… Let's just call it a draw…" Shadow mumbled, blushing madly.

"Yeah…" Sonic whispered, making an effort to hide his embarrassment, and failing miserably. His eyes suddenly saw something out the window. Something that amazed him greatly. "Woah…" He murmured, walking over to the glass windows, staring at it.

Outside of the window, he could see the Earth, rotating slowly on it's axis. Sonic had always had an admiration for nature, but he had never seen something as amazing as this. Through the glass, he was able to see rainforests and deserts, land and oceans, cities and wilderness, all at the same time. It was amazing, he thought, that the planet before him could be the only one in the whole universe that had life on it.

"It's beautiful…" He whispered, as he stared. Shadow walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It really is, isn't it? I hope I can go there someday…"

Sonic broke out of his trance, looking at Shadow. "You mean, you've never been there?"

"No, I haven't. I've lived on the ARK my whole life."

Sonic gasped, surprised at this revelation. "You mean, you were born here? Where are your parents?"

Shadow sighed, walking over and sitting down in a chair. "I guess I'd better explain it to you. I wasn't 'born' as you might think, Sonic." Shadow explained, gesturing for Sonic to sit down with him. "I was created."

"Created?" Sonic asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I was made, as an experiment. You see, Gerald wanted to create a so called 'Ultimate Lifeform', basically, an organism that was perfect. The prototype was a success, but Gerald wanted to go further. He wanted to create a smaller lifeform."

"Smaller?" Sonic interrupted. "How big was the first one?"

Shadow shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen it. Gerald says that he had it destroyed, but I don't trust him for some reason."

"Why not? He's basically your father."

"I don't know. It's little things, like the fact he still keeps files on the prototype, and he sometimes refers to it as if it were still alive."

"I see…" Sonic said slowly, grimacing a little. If Shadow was right, then this Gerald may not be much different from the Eggman that he knew and hated.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Gerald wanted to create a smaller experiment. And that's where I came in."

"So, he just created you… As an experiment? A project?"

"Yes. That's all I am, really." Shadow said, a hint of sadness present in his voice.

"No, you're not, Shadow. You're more than that." Sonic said, smiling warmly at Shadow. "You're a friend."

Shadow smiled back. "Thanks, Sonic. You're the second person who's ever said that to me."

"Who was the first?" Sonic asked curiously.

"That was Maria, although I generally consider her more of a mother than a friend." Shadow sighed a little. "I wish I wasn't such a nuisance to her, sometimes. She's got a hard enough life, with not being able to go to Earth and all…"

"How are you a nuisance?" Sonic asked, his voice a comforting tone.

"Just… things. Like when I run around, I sometimes break stuff, and she usually fixes it up for me. I don't want to make her feel as if I'm using her, or causing her problems…"

"Hey…" Sonic said, lifting up Shadow's chin so he was looking into his eyes. "I'm sure you're not that bigger problem."

"Yeah…" Shadow said, Sonic's words cheering him up slightly. "Hey, you up for another race?" He suggested.

"Uh, not today, I'm feeling really worn out. Besides that, I should really be getting back home…" Sonic said, suddenly remembering Tails. 'I hope he's alright… I mean, I got caught in that thing, and look where I ended up…' Sonic thought to himself, concerned for his friend's safety.

"Oh? Where do you live?" Shadow inquired.

"Westopolis, near the coast." He explained nonchalantly.

Shadow gave a confused look towards Sonic? "Westopolis?"

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you heard of it? It's one of the biggest cities in the world!" He exclaimed, prompting only a shake of Shadow's head. "Have you at least heard of Eggman? The Chaos Incident? It made international news!"

Shadow looked at Sonic like he was crazy. "Nope. Can't say I've ever heard of them…"

The penny dropped in Sonic's eye. "Shadow… What date is it?" He asked nervously.

Shadow saw Sonic's concerned, looking deep into Sonic's eyes as he gave the answer. "It's the 4th of June, 1959."

----------

**And that's the chapter. Just for reference, I'm having the story take place 50 years prior to this year, because there's not really a canon date for the game.**

**Read and Review, thanks!**


	4. The Horrible Truth

**Well, folks, here's the fourth chapter. ****I'm sorry for the science lesson at the start, it's kinda relevant to the story though. This chapter also features the aftermath of the Chaos explosion!**

**Shadow: Whatever. How was Moreton?**

**Piss off. My legs hurt, my arms are itchy, and I never want to see sand again. That shit gets **_**everywhere**_**.**

**Sonic: Don't forget, you owe that guy $10 as well…**

**Stuff him.**

**Shadow: But didn't he say…**

**Stuff. Him.**

**Sonic:**** Anyway, Illumini does not own me, Shadow, or anyone else in this story. We belong to SEGA and…**

**YES! Got you, you little bastard!**

**Shadow: What.**

**Mozzies. Goddamn insects. Anyway, on with the story! And to everyone who knows what it is, happy ANZAC day. Lest We Forget.**

**----------**

Time is a funny thing. It is omnipresent, always there, and know matter what you do, you cannot escape it. No one really knows how or when time began, and if, or when, it will end.

Time travel is a very commonly mentioned whenever the subject of chronology is brought up. Physics state that as an object approaches the speed of light, the rate at which time passes for that object slows. For example, a person in a car travelling at 100km/h ages at a slower rate than someone who is walking at 5km/h. The rate at which it does so is incredibly small, though, and thus insignificant. On a larger scale, an person travelling through space at 150,000,000 metres per second (Half the speed of light would age twice as slow as someone on earth). If an object is travelling at the speed of light, 300,000,000 metres per second, then time would stop completely.

This is where things become more relevant. If at the speed of light, time stops completely, then theoretically, wouldn't travelling beyond that speed cause time to reverse? While this is logically feasible, in reality it would be impossible, due to the speed of light widely being accepted as the fastest possible speed.

To be fair, and cut to the chase, experimental physics were probably the last thing on Sonic's mind at the present time.

"June… 1959?" He said skeptically, the fear obvious in his voice.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Shadow asked, a concerned look upon his face.

Sonic had no answer for the question. His mind wouldn't allow him to speak. It could only concentrate on one thing: He was fifty years in the past. No one that he knew existed yet. Tails, Knuckles, Amy… All just a glint in their parent's eyes. Even he wasn't supposed to exist yet! What if he did something that altered the past, and stopped him from being born? What would happen to him, his friends, the world then?

"Sonic?" Shadow shook the blue hedgehog gently. "Are you alright?"

Sonic gave no verbal response. Instead, he just let out a small, choked whisper, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. Questions were racing through his mind. How did this happen? What was _going_ to happen? Could he get back to his own time? Or would he be stuck here, in the past, for the rest of his days?

Sonic let out a sob as the tears began to fall. He began to breath heavily, the tears falling more rapidly now. He was absolutely terrified. He was stuck, he didn't know what to do, and he didn't know where to go. Shadow saw the fear on his face and grabbed the sobbing hedgehog pulling him into a protective embrace. Sonic rested his head against Ebony's chest, the tears wetting his chest fur. Shadow just ignored his dampening chest, putting all his efforts into comforting the blue hedgehog. He gently stroked the azure quills, whispering soothing words into his ear, gently rocking him back and forth in his lap.

Sonic's sobbing eventually began to soften, and his breathing slowly returned to normal, as he began to fall asleep against Shadow. Shadow continued to hold the blue hedgehog, continuing to comfort him until Sonic's sobbing turned to silent snores. Gently, Shadow stood up, and pulled the sleeping hedgehog up into his chest, being careful not to wake him. He frowned as the blue one fidgeted in his sleep, a few whimpers escaping his mouth. Slowly, Shadow began to walk back to their sleeping quarters. When he arrived back at the bedroom, Shadow walked over to Sonic's bed, and gently laid the sleeping youngster down on the grey quilt. He rested Sonic's on the pillow, before pulling up a chair and sitting down beside him. He continued to watch over the hero as he slept.

After a while, Sonic stirred, and his eyes flickered open, revealing his emerald eyes. His pupils were still glazed over from the crying, and he blinked a few times, adjusting his vision. He noticed a black and red figure sitting beside the bed. "Shadow?" He murmured, as he sat up in bed.

"Yeah, it's me." Shadow assured him, sitting up as well.

"What… Oh Gods…" Sonic gasped, as the revelations from before rushed back to him. He shifted under the sheets, trying to slide out of bed.

"Whoa, whoa, settle down…" Shadow soothed, moving to stroke Azure's spines again. "You need to rest…"

"But… Tails… The world… This…" Sonic continued, the fearful expression returning to his face.

"Shh…" Shadow calmed, pulling the blue hedgehog into a warm hug. Sonic felt his face burn as he did so. He didn't want anyone touching him at this particular time, but for some reason, it felt good when Shadow did it. It felt… Right. He allowed Shadow to hug him, whispering softly into his ear. For some reason, when he was in this position, pressed up against Shadow's soft, fluffy chest, he found it hard to worry about anything. Slowly, he calmed down, a contented look spreading across his face. Shadow released the hug, almost reluctantly, causing Sonic to whimper longingly. He missed Shadow's warmth.

"How are you feeling?" Shadow asked.

"Better…" Sonic mumbled, as he lay back down in bed.

"That's good…" Shadow smiled, pulling the sheets back over Sonic.

"I'm still scared, though… How am I going to get back to my own time?"

Shadow frowned. "I'm not too sure… But Gerald might know. Do you want to go see him in the morning?" He asked

"That sounds good…" Sonic murmured quietly, as he began to fall back to sleep.

"Sleep well, Sonic…" Shadow whispered to the sleeping hedgehog. What he did next shocked him completely. Without thinking, he leaned over Sonic, and gently kissed him on the head. As he pulled back, he blushed heavily. Why did he do that? He knew that he wanted Sonic to feel safe, and comfortable, but that was because he was generally a hospitable person. But this? He didn't know what to make of it at all.

'I don't know… I just want to sleep.' He thought to himself, as he walked over to his own bed and climbed in, falling asleep almost instantly.

----------

"SONIC!" The kitsune screamed into the microphone. It was useless, though. All he could hear through the chamber's feedback speakers was static. He couldn't even see Sonic, the chamber was filling with a blinding white light. Suddenly, the light seemed to die, as a crack was heard. Multiple rays of coloured light flew through the chamber, Tails assumed that it was the Chaos Emeralds separating and spreading themselves around the Earth. Finally, the white light dimmed, and the static began to soften. Tails looked around the chamber, desperately searching for his friend. "Sonic?" He called out once more, as his heart began to race. Was Sonic alright? What if he was hurt? Or knocked out? Or…

Tails shook his head. He didn't want to even consider that possibility. He pressed a button on his control panel, and an door in the wall opened up. The kitsune walked into the niche and pushed a button, the doors sliding shut as the box carried him downwards towards the test chamber. He walked out, and looked around the copper-walled room. It really was in a state. Shattered glass was strewn everywhere, turning the floor deadly. A huge metal pole lay on the floor, both ends of it a mess of twisted steel. The remains of the centre pylons continued to rotate slowly, the hydraulics having been destroyed in the explosion. Tails looked around the chamber, trying to find any sign that his friend was there. But there was nothing. It was almost as if… Sonic had never been there.

Tails raced back upstairs to his lab. He ran over to a computer, and rewound the readings to a minute before the light had disappeared. For about 30 seconds, a red blob moved around the screen, indicating Sonic's body heat. However, after that, it just completely disappeared from the screen. No fading, no cooling, just complete and utter vaporization.

Now, Tails was no expert on the Chaos Emeralds. But he knew enough about their power to deduce a few clues as to what had happened. For a start, he knew Sonic couldn't have been vaporized in the explosion, the Chaos Emeralds did not have the power to convert matter and energy. He also knew Sonic couldn't have been killed in the explosion, the Emeralds were only that powerful when harnessed by a user. Unfortunately, Tails didn't know any more about what could have happened.

But he knew someone who did.

Briskly, he walked over to his phone, and pressed a number on speed dial. It rang a few times before a gravelly voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Knuckles." Tails replied, gritting his teeth. "We have a problem."

**----------**

**Ha-hey! The first kiss scene! Shadow, you cheeky bastard!**

**Shadow: Hey! It was reflexive! It doesn't mean anything!**

**Whatever, lover boy…**

**Shadow: Now, see here…**

**Sonic: Hey guys, what's going on?**

**Mr. Perverted over here thinks that I'm in…**

**NOOO! You'll give the plot away!**

**Shadow: Fine. Queer…**

***Starts typing new story* 'Yes, Mephiles! Harder!' Shadow screamed as…**

**Shadow: ARGH! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!**

**Excellent! And please, Read and Review. If you don't, I won't continue the story, and then no one's happy.**


	5. Race War

**Yes! The new chapter is here! Sorry I didn't update for, like, a month, I had writer's block and was also working on some other stuff… A Sonadow poem and a Silvamy oneshot. My first hetero story!**

**Shadow: And you **_**still**_** put yaoi in it!**

**I know, I know, I can't help myself. At least I've got variety.**

**Shadow: Whatever. Illumini doesn't own me, Sonic or anyone. He just owns a box of Pizza Shapes.**

**These are *munch* awesome. Hey, where's Sonic, anyway…**

----------

Tick.

Tick.

BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP

"Urgh… Five more minutes, mummy…"

Sonic opened his eyes slowly, tilting his head back as he yawned. His ungloved hand snaked its way to the nightstand next to the futon on which he laid, the limb searching around the table clumsily until he found the alarm clock. He deactivated it, mentally sighing as the ringing in his ears stopped. The blue time-traveler sat up in his bed, noticing that Shadow was not in the room.

"Wonder where he is…" Sonic mumbled, scratching behind one of his mussed-up quills. Yawning again, he kicked off the sheet that was covering him and shifted so he was seated on the edge of the bed. He growled slightly when he noticed that his shoes were no longer there.

"Where'd they go…" He muttered quietly as he stood up, arching his back as he stretched. He began to look through the room, trying to find his trademark footwear.

You can discover a lot about a person by looking through their bedroom, Sonic realized as he searched for his shoes. Shadow enjoyed Jazz, for example. He drank Brandy. He was a fan of Gridiron. Sonic was interrupted in his little quest by a quiet hiss, the door sliding open as Shadow walked through, a plastic tray in his hand. On the tray were two bowls, two glasses and a small jug with an orange liquid in it.

"You're up," Shadow commented, walking over to the small table in the corner of the room and setting the tray down. "I went and got some breakfast, by the way." He added.

Sonic smirked as his stomach let out a gurgle. "Heh, I guess I am pretty hungry…" He confessed as he walked over to the table. He grabbed one of the bowls on the plate, and about 10 seconds later, replaced it, now completely empty.

Shadow stared at him, shocked. "How long has it been since you last ate, a year?"

Sonic poured a glass of orange juice. "Fifty, actually." He replied, downing the glass.

Shadow looked up from his bowl. "Speaking of that, do you want to go see the Gerald about getting back to the future?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Sonic said, pouring himself another glass. "Man, this juice is GOOD!"

Shadow blushed slightly. "Thanks. It's my own recipe," He admitted.

Sonic looked at him. "You can cook?"

"Well, yeah, just a little bit… It's still pretty basic stuff…"

"Hey, it's better than anything I could ever do! I usually get Tails to do all the cooking," Sonic complimented, still impressed.

"Who's Tails?" Shadow asked. For some reason, he felt worried, and almost threatened by this 'Tails' character. He shook his head mentally. Why would he be feeling like that?

"He's my little bro' and my best friend!" Sonic said proudly.

"Oh, OK…" Ebony replied, almost sighing in relief. Gah. Again with those feelings!

"Ah, Shadow! I was gonna ask, have you seen my shoes?" Sonic suddenly remembered.

"Yeah, I put them in the cupboard earlier. Sorry I didn't tell you, but you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you."

Sonic laughed dryly. "You're kidding, right?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "No… Why would I be joking?"

Sonic walked over to the cupboard and opened it. He looked around for a few seconds, before slamming his head into the wall, slamming his fist against it.

"Damnit! I looked in here four times! They were not here before!" He shouted, reaching down and grabbing his joggers.

Shadow smirked in amusement. "Should have looked harder, hedgehog,"

"Shuddup," Sonic growled, blushing furiously as he sat down and began to pull his shoes on.

Shadow chuckled, grabbing a napkin and wiping his muzzle before standing up. "Still wanna go see Gerald?"

--------------------

"So, tell me about the future."

"What's there to tell?" Sonic said simply, as he and Shadow walked down the ARK's long, metal corridors. "It's crowded, stressful, and the humans seem deadest on poisoning every living being on Earth, including themselves. From what I know, it's basically a slightly advanced version of now."

"Oh… OK…" Shadow said, disappointment obvious in his voice?

"Something wrong?" Sonic asked, noticing the feeling.

"It's just that… Well, I always imagined the future as this totally different, advanced society, way more advanced than what it is now… I mean, we've got this whole colony up here in space, and if technologies moving that fast, then I thought that we'd have stuff like… I dunno, hovercars… By then."

Sonic chuckled quietly, slapping a hand against Shadow's back. "I admit, that'd be cool, but hey, who needs hovercars, when you're the fastest thing on Earth?" He boasted, poking his free thumb against his chest.

A small grin appeared on Shadow's face. "Hmm, speaking of fast things, that reminds me: I owe you a rematch for yesterday's race."

Sonic looked to Shadow, that competitive smirk of his growing wide of his face. "You're on. First to the observation deck again?"

Sonic didn't get a reply. In a flash, Shadow was gone, leaving a golden streak in his wake. Sonic blinked in shock, and realized a second later that they'd already started. One second that Shadow had on him. Normally, most people wouldn't have worried. But this was Shadow and Sonic. For them, one second can mean the whole race.

Shadow smirked as he sped down the corridor. He had definitely set that blue hedgehog straight. This whole thing was going to be a piece of cake. At least, that's what he thought, until he saw a blue streak fly past him.

"Oh, that's it…" Shadow growled, closing his eyes as he activated his skates. Slowly, he rose from the ground, hovering in the air as he ran, or rather, glided towards his blue opponent. He hovered up beside him, smirking.

"Looks like you're not the only one who's got a secret weapon!" He shouted proudly, before shooting off again. Sonic frowned, lowering his head to streamline his body better as he gained even more speed. Right now, it didn't matter whether he and Shadow were friends. Nothing mattered right now, except winning.

Sonic pulled up alongside Shadow again, scowling. Then, without warning, he struck, throwing himself sideways and slamming into Shadow. It wasn't enough to send throw Shadow off, but he did fall back a few metres.

'Oh, so he wants to play dirty, huh? I'll show _him_ dirty!' Shadow thought spitefully, as he ran even faster, nearing the observation deck. He ran in, putting all his worth into getting to that pole first. However, as he neared it, he slowed. All hope of winning was gone. Sonic was leaning against the pole, smirking proudly. He looked up, grinning deviously at Shadow. "Well, Shads guess I win this round. But, hey, better luck next time, huh?"

Shadow didn't reply. Instead, he walked towards Sonic, a cold, blank stare in his crimson eyes. As he neared Sonic, he remained silent, but he did give an answer to his remark in the form of a quick, hard punch to the face. Sonic cried out as his head flew back into the pole, connecting with a loud crack. Sonic gazed at Shadow, his head swimming from concussion. He shook his head, an angry scowl appearing on his muzzle. "What the hell was that for?!"

Shadow growled at him. "_That's_ for your little shenanigans during the race. You could have killed me!"

"Oh, cool down, Shads! It was just a little push!"

"Don't call me Shads!" Shadow screamed, slamming the back of his palm against Sonic's face.

"Are you looking for a fight!" Sonic questioned, ignoring the sharp, burning pain on his cheek.

"Maybe I am!" Shadow taunted, balling both of his hands into fists.

"Bring it, then!" Sonic shouted, running forward and landing a punch on Shadow's head.

Shadow growled loudly, adopting a fighting stance. The hedgehog had _really_ started something now. Normally, Shadow wouldn't have become involved in a fight over something so trivial. But right now, his mind was still filled with adrenaline from the previous race, clouding his judgment. He ran towards Sonic, leaping into the air at the last second and landing a kick on the blue hedgehog's stomach. Sonic grunted from the impact, stumbling back as he clutched at his gut. It was only a minor hit, as the fighter in Sonic kicked in and he rose to his feet, running towards Shadow and landing a series of swift, fast punches to his torso. Shadow retaliated by tilting his head back and bringing it down hard against Sonic's forehead. Their skulls connected with a sickening crunch, causing both to separate, clutching at their skulls. Sonic took advantage of the break in fighting to charge again, curling up into a ball and spindashing at Shadow.

When fighting normally, Sonic is a fearsome opponent to any creature, the mixture of stamina, strength and determination creating enabling the hero to perform a wide variety of attacks. In his ball form, he is even more dangerous. Sonic's quills act like a circular saw, capable of causing tremendous damage anything unfortunate or stupid enough to get in his way. As he hit Shadow, the black hedgehog cried out, genuine fear present in his voice. He pushed against Sonic, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Ah! Sonic! Stop!" He screamed, struggling desperately as he tried to escape from the blue hedgehog's death-like spin. Fortunately for Shadow, Sonic heard this, and pulled away, uncurling from his defensive ball as he stared at the black hedgehog.

Shadow was a mess. Sonic's sharp quills had done their job, leaving several cuts across Shadow's body. The most serious was a wound that went all the way down his front, drawing thick, red blood from his body as it stained his white chest fur. Shadow panted deeply, whimpering in pain as the wounds widened slightly from his chest ascending and descending.

Sonic's heart fell. How could he have done this to Shadow? It had just been a friendly race, and he had gone and turned into _this_. He lowered his head in shame, slowly approaching the wounded hedgehog.

"Shadow…" He whispered sadly, trying to hold back the tears.

"I'm sorry… Sonic…" Shadow winced, a sudden surge of pain searing through his body, causing him to cry out again.

"No, Shadow, it's my fault…" Sonic murmured, a salty tear falling from his emerald eyes. "I shouldn't have gone and pushed you during the race… I was so concerned with winning… I didn't think about whether I'd be hurting you…"

Shadow looked upwards to Sonic, tears starting to slide down his cheeks as well. "Sonic… Can we just… You know… Forget this whole thing happened?"

"I don't know… You've got that huge cut on you, I don't know if that'll heal…" Sonic mused, gently running his finger's along the wound.

Shadow smirked sadly. "Hey, I'm the Ultimate Lifeform… I heal quickly…"

Sonic smiled at him. "No hard feelings?" Sonic said as he helped Shadow up.

"No… But just you wait until next time… You're gonna be eating my dust for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

Sonic chuckled. "Keep dreaming, Shads."

"Oh, I won't it won't be a dream, hedgehog… It'll be a nightmare…" Shadow challenged.

"Whatever… Anyway, are we still gonna see Gerald?" Sonic asked, remembering the why they had even come here in the first place.

"Of course," Shadow said, as his stomach growled slightly. "But first, wanna get something to eat?" he asked, blushing again.

Sonic's eyes lit up. "Sure! Can you make me a chilidog?"

Shadow cocked his head. "A what?"

Sonic stared a him. "A chilidog."

A puzzled expression came over Shadow's face. "What's a chilidog?"

----------

**Hope you liked the chapter! As always, please leave a review if you thought it was good. And if it wasn't good, yell at me until I improve.**

**Sonic: *Falls out of cupboard* AIR!!!**

**So **_**that's**_** where you were!**

**Sonic: Help! Shadow's got me chained up here and he's making me have hot sex with him!**

**Heh Heh, that's Stockholm Syndrome for ya.**

**Sonic: It's not funny! Oh God…**

**Shadow: How'd **_**you**_** get out? In ya go…**

**Sonic: Oh God… Help meeeeee!**

**Maybe when he's done. **_**Maybe**_**.**


	6. Sinners and Solutions

"What?" I hear you say. "Illumini's updated Turn Back the Clock? Impossible!" Yes, I've finally updated this, I haven't forgotten about it, I just lacked the motivation to continue, sorry. But nevermind, it's here now, so enjoy the latest chapter!

Sonic and Shadow: Illumini doesn't own us, we belong to SEGA and Sonic Team.

I trained them to do that.

Sonic: Shut up! You threatened to stop buying hot dogs!

Shadow: And you hid my Desert Eagle until I promised to do this…

I still got you to do it, correct?

Sonic: Yeah…

So I win. On with the story!

----------

"No… Chilidogs?" Sonic repeated, his jaw hanging slightly in disbelief as he stared at Shadow stupidly.

"That's what I said; we don't have any of these 'chilidogs' that you speak of, whatever they are." Shadow said slowly, becoming a bit tired of having to repeat himself.

"Oh, God…" Sonic mumbled, leaning on a nearby wall for support, his knees becoming shaky. He looked up at Shadow, his expression now a mixture of fear and… Sympathy? "You mean to say… You've never even tried one?"

Shadow simply shook his head, trying to be as patient as he could with the hedgehog.

Sonic's face lit up, as a grin spread across his muzzle. "Well, from today, that's gonna all change! Where's the kitchen, or wherever you eat in this place?"

"There's the mess hall just down the corridor…" Shadow suggested, flicking his head towards one of the observation deck's many entrances.

"That'll do!" Sonic said as he made his way towards the door. "Tell me, Shadow, do you have any sausages up here?"

"Of course…" Shadow said, giving Azure a doubtful look. "They're part of the basic meal for workers here."

"Great!" Sonic grinned, his smile growing. "And do you have any chilli?"

"No, but I know how to make it." Shadow explained, following Sonic down the corridor. "I'm pretty sure we have enough ingredients stocked."

"Awesome." Sonic said, walking into the mess hall and staring around at all the dirty stoves, sinks and saucepans. His nose twitched, screwing up in disgust as the pungent odour hit him. "Man, when's the last time anyone CLEANED this place?"

"There was a leak in one of the storage tanks this month. We've had to ration out water for cleaning. Not many people use this kitchen, so I guess they just decided to leave it until we got it fixed."

"I guess it'll do for now." Sonic sighed, grunting as he heaved open the door to a huge industrial freezer. "You get started on that chilli, 'K? I'll get the hot dogs done."

"Alright…" Shadow muttered, setting about his task.

20 Minutes Later…

DING! The timer rang out, causing both Sonic and Shadow to sit bolt upright in surprise.

"They're done!" Sonic cried out joyfully, quickly standing up and heading over to the range.

"Really…" Shadow muttered, cringing as he rubbed his head, having banged it when he sat up.

"Mmm…" Sonic hummed as he sniffed the chilli, a pleased smile on his face. "Smells good, doesn't it, Shad?"

"Let me see…" Shadow said as he walked over to the Sonic. He leant over the pot of chilli, taking in a good whiff of it.

"Mmm!" He murmured as he stood back up. "That smells amazing!"

"Wait 'til you taste it, then…" Sonic teased as he walked over to the other pot and removed the lid, as he extracted two frankfurters with a pair of tongs.

"Here we go…" He said as he carefully placed the sausage on one of the buns, placing a good helping of chilli on top. "Eat up!" He grinned, passing it to the black hedgehog.

Shadow raised the hotdog to head height, examining it. Truth be told, he didn't exactly trust the blue hedgehog, especially after the earlier incident. Aside from that, the creature seemed a little… What was the word he was looking for? Crazy, no… Hyper, maybe… Oddball, that was the word he was looking for. Shadow shrugged it off. The blue creature had no motivation to really hurt him, and besides, he was the Ultimate Lifeform, these 'Chilidogs' couldn't hurt him _that_ badly.

Slowly, Shadow brought the hotdog towards his mouth, feeling the heat emanating from it on his muzzle. He placed the tip of it in his mouth, and slowly, closed his jaw, biting off a small mouthful. He chewed slowly – Once, twice, three times – Before swallowing. That was when the flavour hit him.

Shadow's eyes grew wide as he tasted it. Sonic had been right, these things _were_ good. It was very meaty, as he had expected, but had an incredibly spicy bite to it, more so than he had been anticipating. And it was all absolutely delicious. Shadow quickly brought the chilidog back to his mouth, taking small, quick bites out of it, purring as he savoured the taste, the rich, warm flavour on his tongue and throat.

Shadow's mouth fell open as he panted slightly, his tongue making its way out to lick around his muzzle, capturing any stray bits of food that hadn't made it into his mouth.

Shadow was dragged back into reality by a chuckle. "Looks like you enjoyed that…" Sonic commented as he leaned against the bench.

"I sure did!" Shadow said as he picked up a nearby towel and wiped off his jaw. A puzzled look came over his face. "Wait, haven't you had yours yet?"

Sonic tilted his head back and let out a hearty belch in response. "Looks like that's another thing you're slower at." He teased, grinning at Shadow.

"Hey…" Shadow started, but decided not to continue, he was beginning to learn that it was just not worth arguing with this hedgehog. "Uh, you want to go see Gerald now?" He asked, remembering their original task.

"Of course!" Sonic said enthusiastically. Even though he was having a fun time in the past – He had never been in space before, and this black hedgehog seemed like a really great guy – He still missed his friends in the future, and of course he had to protect the world from Eggman. "Lead the way, Shadow!"

"Very well…" Shadow said, as he and Sonic walked out into the corridor.

"So, do you think Eggm… I mean, Gerald will be able to get me back to the future?" Sonic asked, trying to cover his Freudian Slip.

"I'd imagine that he'd be able to." Shadow said, raising an eyebrow at the hedgehog's change of words. "He's a very smart man, the professor. He did design this whole place by himself, and he's successfully carried out a lot of projects, including yours truly." He smirked.

"Sounds like something like time travel would be his kind of thing, then…" Sonic said.

"Maybe. Gerald _has_ experimented with this kind of thing before, but all have resulted in catastrophic failure."

"Oh…" Sonic said in disappoint, looking to the ground. "I guess I could get used to living here, if all else fails…"

"Shut it!"

"What?!" Sonic exclaimed, glaring at Shadow.

"That wasn't me…" Shadow gulped. "It came from the professor's office."

"Please, major, you're being unreasonable about the whole situation…"

"Oh, _great_…" Shadow growled. "Not _them_ again."

"Them? Who's them?"

"The military. They think that the professor's a madman and his experiments are a danger to humanity."

"You mean, like…"

"Yeah. Like me." Shadow scoffed. "Here, come watch it…" He said, motioning for Sonic to come over.

"I'm telling you Gerald, you don't know what you're dealing with here." A man in a grey uniform growled. Sonic assumed this was the major. "This isn't test tubes and chemicals," he mocked, "You're talking about a dangerous, biological weapon here."

"I assure you, Baxter." Gerald said, "Shadow is perfectly harmless, his abilities in combat are purely for experimental reasons."

"First of all, you refer to me as major." The man growled. "Second, we're the ones who provided you with the base organism for that thing, so don't go thinking you can go do whatever you like with it."

"Provided?" Gerald scoffed. "As I recall, _Major_, you unloaded Shadow onto me as a failed military experiment."

"Still…" Baxter growled. "We have certain legal rights over that thing, so you'd better watch your step."

"Whatever, Major." Gerald said. "Bring me that in writing, and perhaps I'll be willing to discuss ownership rights."

"One of these days, Gerald…" Baxter muttered. "One of these days, you're going to screw up with these experiments, and don't think that we'll bail you out again. You've changed, Gerald. You've changed."

"Yes, yes." Gerald snapped. "Now why don't you get back to fighting 'the Red Menace'. Oh wait, I forgot. It's an arms race. You're not battling anyone."

The major simply scowled at Gerald, before turning on his heel and making his way out of the room. "Move it…" He growled as he shoved passed the two hedgehog's, his boot clipping against Shadow's stomach.

"Prick…" Shadow muttered, glaring at the retreating soldier. He turned around to face the other man. "Professor?"

"Yes, Shadow? What is it?" Gerald asked. Even with all the stress he was under from the military, he still considered Shadow as a son, and had resolved to treat him as such.

"I was just wondering… Do you have any idea how Sonic may be able to return to his own time?"

"Hmm…" Gerald murmured, leaning back in his chair. "While I have failed to replicate time travel before, I believe I may actually be able to with Sonic."

"Why's that?" Sonic piped up, intrigued by the developments.

"Tell me, Sonic," Gerald asked, "what circumstances resulted in your being here?"

"I'm not sure…" Sonic confessed, scratching his head. "I do remember something spinning really fast, and the Chaos Emeralds…"

"Exactly." Gerald said, pointing to Sonic. "Tell me, Sonic. You have the ability to control Chaos, is this correct?"

"Yes, I do." Sonic admitted. "Why?"

"It's a somewhat common ability in your kind. Many of you 'Mobians', as they call them, are able to control the power of Chaos to some extent. Some can do it more effectively than others. For example, Shadow here was designed to have extreme amount of control over Chaos. Isn't that right?"

"Exactly." Shadow smirked, bringing his hand to a cut on Sonic's shoulder from the earlier fight. "Allow me to demonstrate: Chaos Heal!"

As Shadow shouted these two words, a small amount of blue light began to leak out of his fingertips, and almost like a liquid, began to circle around the wound. Sonic squeaked as the Chaos energy began to heal him, the process creating an odd tickling sensation in his arm. The brilliant blue light slowly began to fade, the area that used to be a cut now just a patch of fluffy blue fur.

"There we go. Good as new." Shadow grinned, pulling his hand away.

"Very good, Shadow." Gerald told him, nodding. The scientist looked back at Sonic. "Anyway," he said, "Since you were transported back in time through semi-natural means, it makes the process of sending you back much easier. In fact, if a device can be built, it would simply be a matter of determining that last time that your Chaos energy was significantly boosted."

"But does that mean if I gain Chaos energy here… I can never go back?"

"Not as far as I know." Gerald admitted, shaking his head. "But just so long as you do not gain anymore Chaos energy now, you should be fine."

"So how long will this device take to build?"

Gerald scratched his chin, thinking deeply "A few weeks, maybe a month?" He estimated, shrugging slightly. "In the meantime, I'm sure that Shadow will be glad to help you with whatever you need."

----------

Shadow: Oh my. I wonder who this military organisation could possibly be.

Ooh, I dunno, maybe a certain rifle-inspired organisation?

Sonic: Oh, what a surprise. I never would have possibly guessed.

I'm going to pretend you're not being sarcastic. I know, hey! Anyway, please leave a review! CTHULU, ANONYMOUS AND CEILING CAT DEMAND IT!


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